Credit has to go to conservative Bruce Bartlett who writes in his National Review column: There is no indication of what tax rate Speaker Hastert thinks would be necessary to replace all federal revenue. A current proposal by Rep. John Linder (R., Ga.) says that a 23 percent rate would be adequate. But such a […]
A few weeks ago I noted that perceptions of how the economy is doing seem to vary widely depending on one’s political affiliation. Some new survey results by Gallup may offer some insight into why: Recent Gallup Poll data show substantial differences in the way Americans in core Democratic states and those in core Republican […]
In the previous post I raised the question of whether we can expect business investment spending to increase fast enough to propel the economy forward through the second half of the year, as Alan Greenspan seems to be arguing. Curious, I thought I’d try to take a rough look at where business spending currently is […]
This week’s Buttonwood column in The Economist does a good job of summarizing the current state of the US economy, points out the signs of potential danger, and asks the right question: [T]he economy is about to slow down… which is unlikely to be favourable to risky assets. The question is: how sharply? To a […]
Go. Now. Listen. Laugh. Then cry. Via TBogg. AB
I’ve hidden a ridiculous joke somewhere on this page. The current time is 1:17 a.m., Eastern. Who will be first to find it? AB UPDATE: Ragout’s Chef got it in no time: Uh, Maureen Dowd’s new book? Chef Ragout | Email | Homepage | 08.11.04 – 1:55 am | # It’s not really a book, […]
The BLS released its second quarter estimates of productivity growth in the US. The headline numbers were a 2.9% increase in business productivity (excluding the farm sector), and a 4.9% increase in real hourly compensation. These are both high numbers, suggesting that businesses are continuing to find ways to boost labor efficiency. The latter number […]
When Tim Russert asked Speaker Hastert about the large budget deficits, the response was: You know, Tim, I taught economics for 16 years to high school kids. I always said it was the toughest job I ever did until I came to Congress and tried to explain it to some members of Congress. You know, […]
I’m a big fan of many blogs for a variety of reasons, and I enjoy, daily, more blogs than are in the following lists. But if I were referring a new blog reader hoping to gain the widest array of useful information about the impending election — for water cooler and bar conversations — to […]
Two items of interest. First, the interview of Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX), loosely transcribed here last week, is now up on The Daily Show web page. If you haven’t seen it, it’s really worth watching. I can’t link directly to it, but the video is in the red panel on the right side of the […]